Steps Taken to Raise Public Awareness to Get Swift Medical Intervention to Reduce Stroke Risk and Prevent Lifelong Disability

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Health what are the steps taken by the Ministry to raise public awareness to get swift medical intervention and help within three hours of the onset of stroke symptoms in order to prevent lifelong disability.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider providing a stroke and bleeding risk calculator similar to that provided by the American College of Cardiology so that the public can be encouraged to assess their level of stroke risk and actively take steps to reduce such risk.

Stroke is a time-sensitive condition and, for ischaemic stroke, the sooner blood flow is restored to the affected part of the brain, the better the clinical outcomes.

Since 2016, MOH has been putting in place various measures to improve public awareness about stroke and to reduce the time taken for a suspected stroke patient to reach the hospital for assessment and treatment. Annual stroke awareness campaigns are conducted to raise public awareness on the early identification of acute stroke symptoms and response actions. Paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) are also trained in pre-hospital stroke protocols to enable swift identification and conveyance of suspected stroke cases to the appropriate hospital for treatment. Public hospitals monitor the access time to stroke treatment as well as the clinical outcomes of stroke patients closely.

The Stroke and Bleeding Risk calculator is a tool developed by the American College of Cardiology under their patient engagement programme CardioSmart, to estimate the risk for stroke and bleeding only for patients with atrial fibrillation and not for the general public. There are other risk calculators developed by clinical experts to assess stroke risk in patients with cardiovascular disease by considering risk factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, smoking and drinking history. MOH will study these risk calculators with inputs from local stroke care experts and, where appropriate, will incorporate these as part of the overall stroke risk prevention framework. Persons at risk of stroke should adopt risk reduction steps, such as regular health screening, maintaining a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly, maintaining healthy weight and diet, and avoiding smoking and excessive drinking.